Sunday, July 16, 2017

Great shot of the belt with the globe horribly dented and the paint all missing from either side of the globe. It would be totally repaired with and fixed back up just before Funk lost it to Race in early 1977. You will also notice the white lettering on a black background over the flags. This would be reversed (black letters on white background) on the next version of the belt. You'll also notice the NWA letters on the globe are straight across. On the next version of the belt, they would arched/curved along the bottom of the globe.

See how beautiful the belt would later look, as seen on the night Race beat Funk in Toronto. When the referee presents the belt to Race (at around 9:27 in the video), you'll see it at it's sparkling, shiny best!

Sunday, April 30, 2017

This match takes place on "Macon Championship Wrestling" in 1976. The opponent is Irvin "Rip" Smith. The host at the desk is Gordon Solie. The ring announcer (who would later take over hosting duties on the Macon show) is Jim Carlisle. The referee is Ronnie West.

From a post on the video page: "Smith was an early tag team partner for Ted DiBiase, and I've heard
DiBiase credited Smith as the person he credited his power slam after.
Smith also used the figure-four as a finisher.﻿"